


A Visit Home

by tehfanglyfish



Series: Get Me George [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Merlin Memory Month
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 13:51:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18801631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tehfanglyfish/pseuds/tehfanglyfish
Summary: Merlin visits Hunith in Ealdor to deliver some important news.Can be read alone or as a prequel to“Get Me George!"Written for Merlin Memory Month Day 4Path 3 - A Life Lived/A Life Lost





	A Visit Home

**Author's Note:**

> Obligatory "doing this for fun not money" statement.

Merlin had to admit that nothing felt better than being wrapped in his mother’s arms. Of course he missed her, but the weight of just how much was always clearest whenever he returned to Ealdor. Hunith was hugging him extra hard this time, caught off guard by his unexpected arrival. Usually he wrote ahead when he was planning to visit but this time he wanted to surprise her.

They stood for a long while outside Hunith’s house, his mother squeezing him tightly, muttering into his shoulder about how he looked well, and weren’t his clothes nice, and didn’t he seem taller than before. Eventually, she shuffled him inside for a meal. During most visits this would be the point where Merlin could relax, briefly laying down the burdens of destiny to simply be Hunith’s son. This time he grew more tense the longer he sat across the table from her. He began to fidget.

“Merlin?”

“Hmm?”

“What’s wrong? You arrived alone and unannounced. Something’s clearly bothering you. Let’s have it.”

“I… I need to tell you…”

He faltered.

“Is it Arthur?”

“In a way.”

“What’s he done now? I know you sometimes have spats but he does truly care for you and…”

“That’s it, actually. He does… care for me. He… he asked me to marry him. I said yes.”

All the way to Ealdor, Merlin had tried to imagine how his mother might react. He was ready for her to hug him, to dash out to excitedly tell the neighbors, to tear up a bit. In no scenario, though, did he expect her to just sit there in silence, her face unreadable. After what felt like an eternity, she spoke.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Her voice was quiet, flat.

“He is the king, Merlin, and I’m just not sure…”

Merlin didn’t wait to hear the rest. He bolted from his mother’s house, grateful that most people had gone indoors for the evening. Though it had been more than a decade since he’d last hidden from his mother, his feet remembered the path into the trees and up the hill. When he was younger, long before he went to Camelot, this was the place he’d gone when his magic had gotten him into trouble and he needed a moment alone. Just as he’d done years ago, he sat on the secluded hillside, trying to calm himself.

Though it was dark, he could see Ealdor below. The village hadn’t changed all that much since he’d left. Most of the dwellings still housed the same families who’d been there for generations. There were a few new additions, home to some of the people he’d grown up with. In her frequent letters, his mother kept him updated on village life, telling him who had married and how many children they’d had.

Merlin wondered what it was like to live their lives, unencumbered by fate and prophecy. Yes, most of them were poor, there were occasional threats from bandits, and not much in the way of grand adventures happened in Ealdor. But there was an alluring quality to the simplicity of village life. In times of hardship, everyone pitched in. Everyone’s status was pretty much equal. Families loved one another and were close knit. There were a few squabbles and heartbreaks, but on the whole, marriage was uncomplicated. People paired up in adolescence and stayed together for life.

But that life was not for Merlin. He was, the druids said, the most powerful sorcerer to walk the Earth. He had a destiny to protect the Once and Future King. And on top if it all, he was in love with the clotpole. It was true that Arthur could be a pompous, supercilious, condescending, royal imbecile, but underneath it all, he was a kind man with a good heart who wanted to do what was right. Merlin wished he could make his mother happy, but he was not destined to live as an Ealdor farmer.

“I thought you’d be here.”

Letting his mind wander, Merlin hadn’t heard his mother approach. Hunith eased herself on the ground beside him and wrapped an arm around her son’s shoulders. Merlin sighed.

“I know that he’s a king and I’m just a servant and I never make it back here enough to see you. And you probably wish that I was normal and didn’t have magic and that I’d found a nice girl in the village and then you could have grandchildren and …”

“Hush.”

At Hunith’s command, Merlin fell silent.

“I don’t wish any of those things. You are my son and I love you dearly. And because of that, I want you to be happy. Arthur is a good man, but he is still a king. I know he has been a good friend to you, but I don’t know if he deserves to be your husband. You’ve told me how he can be arrogant and rude and stubborn… And I know that in spite of all that, you’ve stuck by him, but a marriage partner should support and uplift you. Merlin, I just want you to be sure that he is worthy of you.”

Merlin leaned into his mother’s embrace.

“I promise you that he is. He knows about my magic. He’s going to lift the ban. And underneath it all, he really is kind and loyal. And he does love me. And I love him.”

“Well… if you’re sure, and if this truly makes you happy, then I am willing to grant my blessing. But only after I’ve talked to Arthur first. I love him like a son but he still needs to convince me.”

Merlin laughed, full of relief.

“Arthur thought you would want to speak with him. He’s planning something but wouldn’t tell me what. I told him to expect us four days from now.”

“Then let’s go home and get some rest. Tomorrow I’ll need to start packing. And I’ll need someone to tend my garden and milk the cow while I’m gone and…”

“Mother. Thank you.”

After another bone-crushing hug, Hunith led her son down the hill and back to her house.

Two days later, as the pair set out for Camelot, Merlin briefly glanced back at Ealdor, thinking about the life he might have had if things had been different. It could’ve been a good life, one that was simpler, and safer, and in many ways easier. But that life was meant for someone else, not him. And so Merlin rode on toward Camelot, where destiny and love, both complicated and true, awaited.

 


End file.
